FAMILY SNAPSHOT
Parents
- Billie Maurice Silkwood
- Merle Frances Biggs
Karen Silkwood
The public profile lists parents; full records and member trees may require a subscription.
1974–1984 · Crescent, Oklahoma
Karen Silkwood
Workplace rights & discrimination
Nuclear worker and union activist Karen Silkwood raised concerns about safety at a Kerr-McGee facility and experienced plutonium contamination. She died in a car crash while pursuing those concerns. Litigation over contamination reached the Supreme Court; the circumstances of her death remain separate from that civil case.
Content note
Source note: screen portrayals may condense events or use fictional characters. Books and films are identified separately; a companion book is not necessarily the film’s source.
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The Story
When1974–1984
WhereCrescent, Oklahoma
In this collection4 resources
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Where are they now?
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Nicknames & media names
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Family Tree
The family relationships behind the story, gathered in one place.
Selected relationships only—not a complete genealogy. A family connection does not imply involvement in a crime.
About These Family Trees
These original diagrams summarize relationships reported by the linked sources. Community genealogy sites can contain errors and are not proof of identity or parentage. Full trees or record images may require an account. We omit speculative relationships, private contact details and unrelated living descendants.
Sources reviewed September 15, 2026. Suggest a sourced correction.
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Blogs & Essays
Read our articles here and explore outside perspectives, credited to their writers and publications. See this case in the Journal →
From the journal
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Blogs & essays
1 itemsAbout these sources
Outside essays and reading guides reflect their authors’ perspectives. Compare claims with reported and primary sources.
John M. Crewdson · The New York Review of Books
How Not to Crack the Silkwood Case
A 1982 critical essay examines attempts to explain Silkwood’s death. This is historical criticism, not a new finding.
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Books
CONTINUE YOUR READING
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Books
1 itemsRichard Rashke
The Killing of Karen Silkwood
An investigation of Silkwood’s life, death and the plutonium case. The book’s title is not proof of a murder finding.
Search Amazon · paid linkExplore this book
Title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed. Check the edition, format, and viewing region.
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Movies & TV
Movies
1 itemsAbout these sources
Watch links, previews and title listings are identified below. Rentals or subscriptions may be required.
Film / television guide
Silkwood (1983)
Dramatized portrayal of these events. Film information and availability are provided by the linked source; dialogue and chronology may differ from the historical record.
Search Amazon · paid linkViewing options & film details
Title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed. Check the edition, format, and viewing region.
TV & documentaries
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Fiction Work · 1 adaptations & inspirations
Fiction Work
Browse all →Scripted stories and fictional inspirations. Scenes, characters, and dialogue can differ from the record.
Film / television guide
Silkwood (1983)
Dramatized portrayal of these events. Film information and availability are provided by the linked source; dialogue and chronology may differ from the historical record.
Search Amazon · paid linkViewing options & film details
Title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed. Check the edition, format, and viewing region.
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Podcasts & Audio
Podcasts
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Social Media
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News & Reading
Free & Library Reading
2 sourcesExplore free articles, book previews and library options. The label on each item explains what you can access; a catalog entry does not mean the whole book is free.
Library of Congress · Free Article
U.S. Reports: Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 238 (1984).
Publicly accessible source material and historical context related to this story.
Read Article ↗Open Library · Catalog / Availability
The killing of Karen Silkwood by Richard L. Rashke
Bibliographic record for related reading. Check the edition page for previews, lending and other access options; full text has not been confirmed.
View Catalog & Access Options ↗Reading Access Notes
Search reviewed 2026-09-15. Sources searched: Google Books, Internet Archive, Open Library, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Magazine, The Atavist Magazine. Search indexing is incomplete; this is not an exhaustive list of the web. Access can change by edition, country and library membership. Library loans may require sign-in or a wait.
A separate Texas Monthly search was blocked by the publisher’s automated-access rules and could not be verified.
News & reporting
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Newspaper clippings
0 itemsFeatured newspaper clipping
No newspaper image has been cleared for display for this case yet. Explore the archive below.
Keep following the newspaper trail.
Search original reporting, follow the trial, and compare how newspapers covered the case over time.
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Internet Archive
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Court & Files
Court records & documents
0 itemsAbout these sources
Documents are labeled by type and scope. Allegations in filings are not findings of guilt. This collection is not the complete case file.
No accessible court document has been verified for this case yet.
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Roads Traveled
Roads Traveled
Open case map →Crescent, Oklahoma. The map provides regional context; individually verified historical places are listed below.
Where this story happened
Crescent, Oklahoma
Highlighted states show regional context, not exact addresses. Ontario and regions outside the contiguous U.S. are listed by name.
Explore the interactive case atlas →Boundaries: Natural Earth · public domain
Location research & source notes
This case was added after the September 14 map-source review and has not yet been checked against those sources.
The map shows regional context for this case. No individually sourced historical place is included below.
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Positive Outcome
Positive Outcome
1 itemsAbout these sources
Documented laws, advocacy and reforms. Listing a change does not claim it is effective or universally supported.
Supreme Court ruling on state-law remedies
1984: Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee
The Court held that federal nuclear regulation did not preclude the punitive-damages remedy at issue under state law. The published opinion addresses contamination liability, not responsibility for Silkwood’s death.
Social Media
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